Fu Tianpeng and Zhao Xueqing rushed to Lin'an at high speed. On a secluded trail in Tonglu County, not far from Lin'an, they saw a man with mud on his face and shabby clothes. He was wearing a bamboo hat and a cloth bag slung over his shoulder. He was running and looking back. Seeing the nervous look on his face, Fu Tianpeng and Zhao Xueqing knew that this man must have encountered some kind of danger.
Sure enough, as the smoke and dust continued to rise from behind, Fu Tianpeng saw a cavalry team running towards him. The man wearing a bamboo hat sighed and then passed out on the roadside.
Fu Tianpeng and Zhao Xueqing rushed forward to rescue.
He took off the wine gourd he had with him and poured some wine into the man's mouth. After a while, the man in the hat slowly opened his eyes. Fu Tianpeng said to him: "Brother, how are you?"
Dou Li said to Fu Tianpeng in a trembling tone: "Quick... leave quickly, I will... hurt you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the captain at the head of the cavalry reined in his horse and sneered at this man with his big beady eyes: "Lu You, don't you claim to be an all-rounder in both civil and military affairs? In front of me, the military master. Run, as long as you run out of Lin'an in one breath, I will let you go."
After the captain finished speaking, all the soldiers accompanying him burst into laughter. Lu You pointed at the soldiers who were chasing him and scolded them for their evil deeds and attacking the scholars. The emperor knew that he would spare them lightly.
The captain held a whip in his horse's hand and said to Lu You, "Lu You, you dare to speak harshly when death is imminent. This time I will capture you on the spot and hand you over to Mr. Qin."
After the captain finished speaking, he ordered the soldiers accompanying him to rush forward in an attempt to capture Lu You. Just when the officers and soldiers were about to arrest someone, Fu Tianpeng intervened to stop them.
Seeing someone coming out to stop him, the captain was furious. He said to Fu Tianpeng: "Where did this stupid boy come from? He dared to stop the officers and soldiers. I think you are impatient with life."
Hearing this, Zhao Xueqing's almond-shaped eyes were filled with anger. She pointed at the captain and cursed: "You are blind, he is a fifth-grade guerrilla general conferred by the Holy One."
When the captain heard this, he laughed loudly and said, "Is he a fifth-grade general, me, or a captain?"
In order to avoid unnecessary complications, Fu Tianpeng showed his official seal letter. When the captain saw that Fu Tianpeng was really a general, he was immediately frightened. Fu Tianpeng ignored him and asked the captain why he wanted to arrest Lu You.
The captain's eyes widened and he stammered. He told Fu Tianpeng that he was just following orders, and he really didn't know the reason for this.
Fu Tianpeng said to the captain: "Please go back and tell Mr. Qin that Lu You is with us. When the matter is finished, I will personally go to Mr. Qin's house to explain it clearly."
The captain said: "This...this, general, if you don't hand Lu You over to me, Mr. Qin will blame you, but I can't afford it."
Zhao Xueqing raised her pretty eyebrows and told the captain that they still had an account to settle with Master Qin. Lu You's matter could be added to it, and they could just reply to Master Qin like this.
The captain was now in the bellows and was getting angry from both sides. Since neither side could afford to offend him, he just withdrew his troops and reported to Qin Hui truthfully what happened here.
Qin Hui was so angry that he gritted his teeth after hearing what the captain said. The fact that he rescued Fu Tianpeng from Lu You was once again blamed on Prime Minister Zhao Ding. If he hadn't tried his best to convince Gaozong in the martial arts arena, how could Fu Tianpeng, a commoner, win the championship in one fell swoop. His son Qin Xi could not show off his power in battle, so he could only show his fame in the imperial examination hall. However, Lu You came out again and shocked everyone with his Analects of Policy, which caused quite a stir in the Lin'an Tower Inn. If this guy shows up in the examination hall, will Qin Xi still have a chance to succeed? Qin Hui was involved in scientific examinations and suppressed scholars. On the one hand, he wanted to regain the face of the martial arts field, and on the other hand, he wanted to make the Song Dynasty useless.
Fu Tianpeng and Zhao Xueqing arranged for Lu You to stay at the Louwailou Inn and ordered the waiters to take good care of him. He would pay for all food and clothing expenses. Lu You said to Fu Tianpeng and Zhao Xueqing: "We met by chance, and the high righteousness of these two knights will be remembered in Lu You's heart."
Seeing that there was no one around, Fu Tianpeng said to Lu You, "Brother Lu, I see that your conversation is extraordinary and your words are well-spoken. You must be a man who has read poetry and books. I don't know why you offended Qin Hui."
Lu You sighed softly: "Brother Fu, it was because when I was discussing the world situation with the scholars at this inn that day, I strongly advocated sending troops to the Northern Expedition, so Lord Qin knew about it. He said that I was making unreasonable comments on government affairs and deceiving people. Not only did the revolution In addition to my qualifications for this exam, officers and soldiers were also sent to arrest me.”
The mountains and rivers are broken, and the national crisis is looming. Fu Tianpeng sympathized with Lu You very much because the ambition of a passionate man could not be realized, but he had to be suppressed by treacherous ministers. He comforted Lu You to rest and recuperate here, and he would definitely seek justice for him.
After Fu Tianpeng and Zhao Xueqing left the inn, they went straight to Zhao Ding's house. Zhao Xiang was very happy to see Fu Tianpeng and Zhao Xueqing. He asked the two about frontline defense and their recent situation,
Fu Tianpeng answered in detail one by one. Then, Fu Tianpeng took out the book "March Essentials" and handed it to Zhao Ding.
Zhao Ding took the book, clasped his fists and said, "Mr. Shi is so loyal and passionate that Zhao admires him so much. I must hand this book into the hands of the Holy Master."
Zhao Xueqing then said to Zhao Ding: "Prime Minister Zhao, it is certainly worthwhile to be happy that the military books and materials are in their proper place. But if the talented people cannot make the best use of their talents, that is the loss of our Song Dynasty."
After Zhao Ding listened to Zhao Xueqing's story, he quickly asked her the whole story. Zhao Xueqing then told Zhao Ding everything about how she and Fu Tianpeng rescued Lu You on the way.
Zhao Xiang was furious when he heard this. He cursed Qin Hui for his harmful actions. After getting angry, Zhao Xiang asked Fu Tianpeng and Zhao Xueqing to go to the palace with him to face the saint, to tell the truth of the matter and seek justice for Lu You.
At this time, Zhao Xueqing hurriedly stood up and expressed her opinions on Prime Minister Zhao's approach. Zhao Xueqing told Zhao Ding that the Holy One had made it clear that he would not be allowed to interfere in military affairs. If the three of us go to the palace to meet the Holy Spirit together, it will definitely arouse the Holy Spirit's suspicion and be detrimental to the resolution of the matter. Moreover, Qin Hui's cronies will also tell him about this matter, so the traitorous officials must have prepared a strategy to deal with it. Therefore, it is best for Prime Minister Zhao to seek an audience with the Emperor alone this time, while the two of us wait and see what happens.
Zhao Xiang thought briefly and agreed very much with Zhao Xueqing's words. He asked the two of them to wait here, and after putting on his official uniform, he quickly entered the palace.
When they arrived at the palace, Zhao Ding explained his purpose and followed the deacon into the royal study. At this time, Gaozong Zhao Gou was concentrating on copying Wang Xizhi's original works. Zhao Ding coughed slightly, Gaozong turned to look at him, and then put down the brush.
Gaozong said to Zhao Ding: "Why is the prime minister so eager to come to the palace to see the couple? What is the important matter?"
When Zhao Ding saw Gaozong's inquiry, he first took out the book "March Essentials". Zhao Ding told Gaozong in a serious manner that this book was written by Shi Yisheng with a lifetime of hard work, and it contained detailed records.
Methods and strategies for marching and formation. If the good generals in the court study it carefully, it will definitely be of great help in attacking Huanglong and regaining the lost ground in the future.
Emperor Gaozong took the "Summary of the Xun March", turned it up and down, and after a cursory glance, said to Zhao Ding: "Ai Qing, I have written down your words. I will look back at this book carefully."
After saying that, Gaozong threw the book aside. General Zhao Ding didn't care about the book of war. He felt an inexplicable helplessness and melancholy in his heart.
Emperor Gaozong saw Zhao Ding frowning and thought he was unwell, so he asked him to go back and have a good rest. Zhao Ding reported back to Gaozong that he still had something to do. Gaozong asked Zhao Ding to explain quickly and not to delay his calligraphy and painting practice.
Zhao Ding knelt down and worshiped, and Gaozong said sincerely: "Your Majesty, practicing calligraphy and painting cultivates sentiments. I agree very much. However, I cannot indulge in it and ruin the government. The Jin people kidnapped the two saints, and now they are attacking Jiangnan. The tiger is watching with eager eyes. Your Majesty, please remember the shame of Jingkang and work hard to cure it!"
As he talked, Zhao Ding burst into tears. Gaozong smiled and asked him to stand up, and asked him what he said so seriously.
Zhao Ding told Emperor Gaozong that we, the Song Dynasty, love talented people and value talented people, but some people dare to risk the disapproval of the world and send people to arrest talented people who come to Beijing to take exams. Your Majesty, this matter is very serious. As soon as I got the news, I entered the palace immediately and left it to you to judge.
After listening to Zhao Ding's story, Emperor Gaozong couldn't help but became furious. He said: "It's unreasonable. In the imperial city of the capital, under my eyes, there are people who dare to harm talented scholars. Who gave them the courage. My dear, please report the details of the incident."
Zhao Ding reported to Gaozong the whole story of Lu You's experience in the Louwailou Inn, his subsequent disqualification from the examination, and his arrest outside the city. The Holy Emperor was so angry that he immediately sent someone to announce that Chen Zhimao, the chief examiner of this year's imperial examination, had entered the palace.
When Chen Zhimao met Emperor Gaozong, he fell to the ground and shouted "long live the emperor". Gaozong asked him to get up and immediately asked if there was a scholar named Lu You in this year's scientific examination. How could Chen Zhimao be responsible for the serious crime of deceiving the emperor? He told Emperor Gaozong that there was a candidate named Lu You this year.
Gaozong asked Chen Zhimao again what crime Lu You had committed and why he was arrested. Chen Zhimao replied to Gaozong that he was not very clear about the specific situation because the person was captured by the troops led by the school captain Hou Gui.
Gaozong said angrily: "A school captain is so brave. Come here, arrest Hou Gui. I want to interrogate him personally."
Not long after, Hou Gui was led in with a noose. Gaozong Longyan was furious and stared at Hou Gui with sharp eyes. Hou Gui was so frightened that he kowtowed and hurriedly explained the truth to Gaozong.
When Gaozong learned that Qin Hui had interfered in the scientific examination and attacked the scholars, he immediately sent him to the palace. Wang Ciweng had already received the news beforehand and quickly told Qin Hui what happened in the palace. Qin Hui arranged his official hat and court uniform and walked towards the palace in a swaggering manner.
He secretly felt cruel in his heart, and if he comes, he will be at ease. If Zhao Ding makes a move, I will definitely take it. It’s still unclear who will win, let’s wait and see.
